Hey all, I'm back! I was working my butt off at a temp job last month on the other side of town and I also got sort of sick with bronchitis.
working on getting all the packing peanuts and red broilers in the freezer yesterday and today so that it will be a little quieter around here. Actually, consodering it's about 15 young roosters, it will be a lot quieter!
im not sure why nobody ever raises the non-meat breeds for meat, though. Those production red roosters are respectable looking, sort of like the fryers from the grocery store.
Love the new plucker!
I'm ordering Silver Dorkings! No more fat Cornish X for me. I decided I want something sustainable and hopefully, hardy.
I agree!! So far I have been really pleased with my blue rocks. They tolerate the summers well, no weird cardiac issues or broken bones, hens give me 2 or 3 eggs a week and the cockerels have a decent amount of meat on their bones. Plus, they are really pretty!!
I don't know about the marans one, I've never had a marans sex-link but the other two are definitely pullets. If the red were a cockerel it would be mostly white with some red and if the black/barred was a cockerel it would be barred.
Mostaza Roja - "Mequasare"
A wild mustard with tender, mild flavored leaves. Use in salads or as cooked greens. Plant in fall in the low desert.
I don't call these weeds anymore, now I call them chicken salad! If you live in Tucson or Phoenix, you've probably seen these all over the place. They've already started flowering, so they'll soon be too bitter for the chickens to eat. Luckily, you can collect the seeds, when it's time, and be ready to plant next fall!
Ever since I figured out how delicious these plants are, I've been supplementing them for about half of the greens that I normally give my ladies. They grow easily, and are native! If you don't want to harvest your own seeds, you can buy them here: http://www.nativeseeds.org/index.ph...n/herbs-and-greens/P-mostaza-roja-qmequasareq
Thanks for posting that! I looked over the back wall yesterday and the alley is completely FILLED with that plant! I had no idea what it was. Have you been eating them? If so, how? I love this kind of stuff.
I don't know about the marans one, I've never had a marans sex-link but the other two are definitely pullets. If the red were a cockerel it would be mostly white with some red and if the black/barred was a cockerel it would be barred.
Wow, I didn't know that was your first chicken experience! Your poor boys. They must have been so sad--you must have been sad. After that kind of experience I can see why you'd want to stack the deck in your favor. I'm sending positive pullet thoughts your way.
Thanks! The positive thoughts must have worked, because Beckyhsinglsc says they are girls (well, 2 out of 3 anyway, and I am pretending she said all 3).
I just picked a 5 gal. bucket full of wild mustard and put it in the greens feeders. The chickens like it!
They are in full bloom right now and they are quite bitter! My chickens have been eating arugula for a long time now so I think they are getting used to that kind of bitter brassica. I could imagine that they would taste quite good cooked. Once again, another useful "weed" I've nearly eliminated from my yard. I'll start promoting their growth now. Last summer it was purslane. If anyone knows of other local edible weeds, let us know.
Thanks! The positive thoughts must have worked, because Beckyhsinglsc says they are girls (well, 2 out of 3 anyway, and I am pretending she said all 3).
Dubby14, With some further searching, I don't think the weed in the pic is the same as the one from NSS. Indeed, it is a wild mustard brassica and it is edible, but it looks more like "London Rocket" (Sisymbrium irio). It's funny that I thought it reminded me of arugula. In England they call arugula, "rocket". Oh, I found a great resource: Illustrated guide to Arizona Weeds. Again, thanks for pointing out this useful weed.
Be careful about picking weeds just anywhere. They could be sprayed or growing in contaminated soil.
I use to not want weeds in my yard, now i can't grow enough for my tortoises because the chickens eat them all. I have to resort to asking friends for their weeds. They use to look at me weird but now they expect my weird requests each spring for weeds and mulberry leaves.
